Hi All,We're doing a rehearsal dinner in our NEW BACKYARD (the crowd goes wild). The poor yard is devoid of plantlife, except the stray leaf of grass, but next spring I'm going to give it an extreme makeover. Anyway, I wanted to do some little favors that look like seed packets, but I'm not sure what to put in them. I would just do regular old seed packets, but 2/3 of the guests would not know what to do with them. Any ideas for candy/toys/other cool things that would go with this theme? I'm also looking for ideas about cheap/free decoration for our bbq. Luckily, I have inherited a case of sunflower candles, but that's all I have so far. thanks!!

My idea for favors: the ultimate treat, cookies and cocoa. I have already bought little plastic treat bags for the cookies and have two huge boxes of Swiss Miss packets... how do I wrap them together? I'm having a fall/nature themed wedding, so I'd like to do something that would be appropriate... any ideas would be appreciated! thank you!

This pattern came together over a weekend, though I still have to face the armholes and hem the skirt.The pattern was -- decent-ish. The instructions were awful. If I hadn't sewn anything before, I'm afraid I would have made a terrible mess out of it. Also: not a fan of the new "cup size" pattern pieces, which conveniently exclude "A" as a cup size. Sorry, I'm a small woman. And it seemed that they missed the "b" cup (which is the size I used) top facing entirely, so I cut down the 'C'. Also, their "14" inch zipper -- the space in which to sew it only requires about a 10 inch.

It has a cute bow tied in front, and the top wraps -- hard to tell because of the busy pattern.

Other than that, I think it's cute! and I'm looking forward to making another one in a plain color. :-)

I am making purses similar to this one (for my flower girl) for my bridesmaids. I have all the pieces cut and ready to go, but I need to put closures on these, and I do not want to do zippers. The outer fabric is black satin-y acrylic and the lining is sparkly red acetate - they will have short black handles from the same black fabric, and I have embroidered initials on the front panels. Any ideas for a simple closure would be much appreciated!!

This is traditional Norwegian embroidery as found on some of the folk costumes -- and is apparently a national secret. I cannot find instructions on how it's done or patterns... I've pirated enough pics to figure out the motifs, but could you tell me - is this just a satin stitch? It is so beautiful, and I want to add it to my flower girl's dress to reflect my heritage. :-)

I got this idea from a catalog I received in the mail. I knew my sister, a knitter, would love it, so I proceeded to stitch it up. I just took the clip off the back of an extra tape measure (the thin, plastic kind). Then, I traced around the tape onto a scrap of fuzzy fabric, making the shape just a smidge larger, sewed it right-sides together and turned it out. Then I stitched up the hole up to the part where the tape comes out (yes, it comes out his "butt"). I stitched on some features, using the catalog picture, hot-glued the legs and ears, and voila!

In the spirit of collecting and sharing cool ideas from other Craftsters... here's some of what I've been working on for my September 07 wedding:Memorial votives -- photos printed in sepia tone onto velum and double-stick taped to votive holders. The photos are bad, but they look very nice in person. I would love to hear any ideas about how to display them.

DONE Card basket: hot glue and a basket I've had for a couple years:

DONE Bout's and corsages from silk - they are pinned onto watercolor paper and labeled for easy reference:

I will be making: the flower girl dress from an adorable Simplicity pattern closer to the date because my flower girl is growing like a weed!

*done* Here's a super-easy flat-bottomed purse I made for my flower girl from 2 remnants - 1 for six cents and one for a little over a buck -- beautiful sparkly red acetate, and there's loads of it left. I added some clear glass beads I had laying around and a little applique'd flower on the front the matches the pattern of the fabric I'm using for her dress.wraps for the bridesmaids, also from Simplicitylittle black pursesalso for my bridesmaids using remnant fabric and costing about a total of $3. Excuse the pics, they are quite nice-looking in person. :-) possibly the groom's vest (McCall's)The cake topper - Little People. The idea is from another post on this forum that I thought was SO Cute and original ( http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=47293.0 ). I am trying to come up with something to go behind them on their pedestal so it doesn't look too blank.

I am still looking for ideas about decoration for the reception and ways to make everyone feel "recognized/special." So far, I have made/embroidered handkerchiefs for my mom and soon to be mom-in law, and I plan to chip carve some more ornamentsand boxes for the wedding party. Guestbook Pen - a wooden blank that was turned by a friend and ready for carving. All you do is insert the "guts" of a Bic Stic pen, and there you go. I think I'm going to paint the ugly little plastic part, or possibly wrap it in ribbon. It will be stained, but it's too cold here for outdoor work or proper ventillation. :-) My bridesmaids are getting personalized denim totes, which I wil also post when they're done.

Thanks for looking and any comments/suggestions/questions are welcome!

Just wanted to show off one of the ornaments I made for xmas and have not yet given away. They are chip-carved basswood rounds with little screw-in loops and metallic string. The pattern is from my good friend, Mr. Barton.

I'm trying to think of something really fun to craft with an image of John Cusack or an image from one of his movies. A very good friend of mine loves Cusack movies - has seen every one -- and in her eyes, he is THE MAN, and I would like to incorporate this theme into her xmas gift. :-) I had thought of a stencil, but she's not really a t-shirt kind of girl. Any thoughts? (Now that Peter Gabriel song will be running through my head alllll night.) She is 31, loves techno music and owns a turntable. She's very down-to-earth, quirky, silly. Thank you for any input!

I wasn't able to take a very good picture of what I wanted to show you, but I smudged the paint onto a few areas above the text on the shirt. (Please ignore the white stuff, it's just tailor's chalk so I could tell where I wanted the design once it was stretched out.) I am trying so hard to think of something I can stencil over those areas that won't totally ruin the design and will possibly be relevant to "Army of Darkness." Any ideas for "design accents"/aka "oops cover-ups"?Any advice would be greatly appreciated!